


All Good Things

by IvyMarquis



Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, John's such a brat I love him, Little world building piece, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 04:30:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17860325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvyMarquis/pseuds/IvyMarquis
Summary: He's been sweet on her ever since she propositioned him back in Missouri





	All Good Things

**Author's Note:**

> just a lil something spinning around in my brain.
> 
> The scene in the church that seems slightly shoe-horned in was what kicked this whole thing off so it's staying even if it doesn't really fit. I liked writing this and wanna do more with them.

Humming a childhood tune quietly to herself, Shiloh Evrette began the walk from the church back home. It was a small hike but one she didn’t mind- it was still daylight, the trek allowed her to get some light exercise and even after all the years she’d lived at The Project the majestic landscape still awed her.

It was no wonder the Voice told the Father to settle here. The land was beautiful.

Keeping to herself, Shiloh observed the landscape with a quiet eye. While familiar with the path she treked every few days for choir practice and the variety of wildlife that occupied the land it was always exciting to discover whatever animals she chanced across.

Of course that was because she typically only saw birds and rabbits- occasionally the red plumage of a fox and once a black bear at a distance (and on more than one occurrence skunks who she gave a very wide berth). The area was traveled often enough that potential threats like wolves and cougars weren’t that common.

A flicker of motion caught her eye, coaxing her from the path and towards the brush. Silencing her humming as she peaked through the trees, a pleased gasp escaped her spying a herd of deer grazing a distance off in a clearing. An impressive buck grazed in the middle, two does with fawns at their side flanking him.

Taking a step closer to try and get a better look, Shiloh froze as her foot cracked a twig beneath her. The deer all stood at attention, all five heads snapping in her direction with raised tails before bounding off.

“Oh,” she murmured, disappointed in herself for spooking them before shrugging it off. Oh well- she needed to head home anyway.

Shiloh had barely turned her back on the thicket to return to the road when she heard a crash behind her. The visceral fear that curled at the noise was nothing compared to the terror at a rough grip on her arm shoving her against a nearby tree. The bark snagged her cardigan, abrasive against her skin. The alcohol on his breath was noticeable as soon as he opened his mouth. “Peggie bitch! I was trackin’ that buck all day and almost had him before you showed up.”

Feeling like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her head, Shiloh barely recognized her own scream as she prayed for someone- anyone- to help her. There were voices shouting not too far away, but she didn’t recognize them. “Let go of me!”

The hunter’s eyes terrified her- what were they doing here anyway? The locals had no right to be on Project land.

“I said let go! You shouldn’t be here anyway.”

That was the wrong thing to say, the anger palpable on his face. While her attention so far had remained focused on him (terrified to look elsewhere), a very real fear he was about to hit her spurred her to glance around in hopes that _anyone_ would be around despite knowing it was unlikely.

Luck seemed to be on her side however, the sound of a pistol’s safety being clicked off piercing the silence like gun shot.

“If you want to walk out of here alive I suggest you let go of her right now.”

Oh praise the Lord. “Brother Jacob!”

His attention didn’t waver a second from the hunter who seemed to be debating with himself.

“I said now.” The Soldier’s voice was completely calm, gun leveled and focused.

The hunter seemed to sober up enough to realize Shiloh was not a prize worth keeping. Shoving her forward, he’d had her off balance pushed against the tree and she fell on the foliage. Well aware she needed to move, Shiloh had barely hit the ground before scrambling back to her feet. Logic dictated the safest spot was directly behind the Herald who’d come to her rescue, and she bolted to his side- Jacob’s free hand guiding her behind him as he stayed fixated on the hunter.

“Woah, okay easy. No need for guns.” Two other local hunters appeared out of the brush, hands up in placating gestures.

 _Why_ were there more of them? Where had they come from?

Both of his hands were back to supporting his pistol, attention trained on the trio in front of him

“No need for you drunken yokels to be grabbing our women either, yet here we are.”

“Come on man, he wasn’t gonna do anything. He’s had a few beers is all.”

Shiloh, still standing behind Jacob, grabbed the back of his army jacket lightly when the Herald reach back to check where she was standing. She was also able to physically see the tension rise in his shoulders at the flimsy attempt at placation.

The abuse the Seed siblings had endured as children was no secret- The Father spoke of it at length in his Book. A fairly common topic for his sermons was a parent’s duties to their children and the evils of alcohol. It wasn’t hard to guess that Jacob was particularly sour to the idea of a drunk man rough housing a woman, all courtesy of his father.

“Go home, Shiloh.”

His gaze never wavered from the men even as the twigs and leaves behind him confirmed her obedience and departure.

 

* * *

 

While she didn’t know how the altercation ended, she _did_ know she didn’t hear gunshots during the rest of her trek home. Usually the walk would take ten minutes, from where the altercation was, to her house but her nerves had gotten a hold of her a few times and the jogging cut it down to seven.

Shiloh fretted in her house, flitting around looking for small things to do to distance herself from actually evaluating any damage done to her body.

Eventually she found herself in the bathroom staring at the mirror.

The damage to her body was superficial- her cardigan was torn, the material difficult to mend and not worth the effort of salvaging. The skin exposed by the tear was abraded from the tree bark, but shallow- she’d live. Palms scraped up slightly from hitting the dirt.

It was the bruise on her other arm that bothered her the most. Her skin had always bruised easily and he’d grabbed her roughly- it shouldn’t be a surprise. Expected, even.

And it was but it still jarred too many memories she’d tried to forget when she’d sought and found refuge in the Project.

A scalding hot shower and clean clothes hid the marks. Out of sight, out of mind.

All she had to do was not look at the palms of her hands and things almost felt normal.

The situation had been so sudden, jarring, and surreal that all she could feel was relief she was home relatively unscathed. Even though any close interaction with the Soldier usually had her heart fluttering in her chest she’d been too unnerved by the potential threat to swoon over the fact it had been _Jacob_ to come to her aid.

The sun set and Shiloh couldn’t get herself to sleep until the wee hours of the morning.

It seemed no sooner than she managed to finally drift off that there was a firm fist knocking on her door. Jolting awake, she hesitated for a moment- she’d slept in longer than usual and to any other member of the project it was an hour where one would be expected to be dressed and ready for the day as opposed to still wearing her night dress. Leaving the person on the other side of the door waiting while she changed was no option however as they knocked again- polite enough, but left no room for discussion.

Shiloh was to answer the door- now.

There was no peep hole, and as such she tried to hide behind the door as she cautiously opened it, ready to slam it shut at a moment’s notice.

“Hell- Oh, Brother John!” She blinked in confusion at the Herald standing at her doorstep, opening it wider and stepping out from behind it.

“Late morning, Miss Evrette? Not indulging in Sloth I hope.” The expression on his face was pleasant but unreadable- Shiloh held no desire to be on the Baptist’s radar, embarrassed to be seen a mess.

A tendril of unease curled deep in her gut, still remembering her atonement clear as day. “I didn’t sleep well last night. I-I’m sorry.”

“Yes, I heard what happened. Fortunate for you my brother was there,” she nodded passively as he paused for breath, eyes raking around to observe what he could of her home. “Speaking of, I was sent to collect you. The drunken vagrant seems to have a different recollection of events and complained to the Sheriff when he sobered up this morning. We’ll need you to come to the church.”

His gaze switched from her home to her, eyeing her up and down for a moment. “I won’t invite myself into the home of an undressed woman, Miss Evrette, so please change quickly and come to the car when you’re ready.”

“Yes, Herald,” she replied quietly, scolding herself mentally as the Baptist walked away and she shut the door.

Clothing options were a bit limited in the project- the emphasis was on utility rather than fashion. Despite being a bit repetitive, her dress and cardigan combination was a simplistic favorite that had her dressed appropriately for the weather and easily presentable. Splashing some cold water over her face to try and hide the bags that had developed, Shiloh phoned it in on her hair rather quickly. Finger combing her scalp quickly to make the strands look presentable enough, she twisted the rest of her hair into a low side braid and called it a day. Out the door in under seven minutes, she was seated in the car beside John as another member of the Project drove them towards the church.

The drive was significantly shorter than when she walked it, escorted inside the building and greeted with Joseph, Jacob, Faith, and three figures whom Shiloh recognized but did not know by name- the Sheriff and two deputies.

Something caught in her throat when all six heads snapped her in direction as the doors shut behind her and John. It was too much attention from too many people high up in the church- not to mention the cops.

Guided to sit at a table across from the three officers, she was staunchly aware of the Father sitting on her left as John sat to her right.

“Now usually we get these statements more… privately,” the sheriff began, _Whitehorse_ inscribed on his name plate, with a glance towards John and Joseph before looking over her head to the two other Heralds.

“In case you forgot, Sheriff- I handle all the legal matters for the Project here,” John interrupted, cutting the sheriff off.

The silence permeated for a beat longer than necessary as the men eyed each other, John’s gaze far more hostile. In an effort to diffuse the tension Shiloh spoke up, part of her feeling like she was walking on eggshells and hoping she wasn’t about to step on a landmine.

The words didn’t want to come out, having to be forced from her throat. “I…I would feel better if they stayed, Sheriff.” A quick glance towards the Father told her she’d made the right move, a warm smile on his face.

“Miss Evrette has nothing to hide.” He assured the sheriff; The implication in his tone was clear to Shiloh. She was to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, so help her God.

But then, the Father was right- she had nothing to hide.

And so she told her story to the officers- the walk home, the accosting (drunk) local.

She knew the shallow cuts on her face, forearm and palm had started to heal and were scabbing over. They kept looking at her face, the officers looking for any inconsistency. Her cardigan hid the cuts and bruises on her arms.

She was nervous she’d say the wrong thing and land Jacob in trouble- or disappoint the Father.

Eyes constantly bouncing between Joseph, John, and the officers across from her, Shiloh carefully navigated her way through her tale without any major hiccups. Or at least as far as she could tell- both John and the Father’s expressions had been pleasant but unreadable, neither dipping to a disapproving frown. As Jacob was standing behind her, she couldn’t tell his reaction but assumed it fell in line with his brothers.

“Thank you, Miss Evrette. We won’t take up anymore of your time.” Sheriff Whitehorse politely dismissed her, he and Deputy Hudson finishing writing the information down on paper.

A beat of silence passed before she turned to her left, “May I go now?” she asked the Father.

A small tendril of terror coiled in her gut as his hand reached out to clasp the back of her head, pulling her forehead to his- a visceral reaction she’d likely never be able to shake any time a man reached for her hair.

“Yes Child. You’ve done well. Jacob will see you safely home.”

He released her as she thanked him, nodding politely to the three officers before excusing herself.

The tension was thick in the air, some sort of power struggle radiating between the Father and Heralds and the Sheriff and his deputies.

All Shiloh knew was she wanted out of there, all too happy to skitter out under Jacob’s arm as he held the door open for her.

“They really don’t make a _move_ without your say so, huh?” The up-until-now-silent deputy suddenly spoke up, earning a glance full of mirth from Deputy Hudson and two raised eyebrows paired with a sharp “Rook!” from Sheriff Whitehorse.

“You’ll have to excuse my indulgence, Deputy,” Joseph began easily. “God has plans for the two of them that they’ve been… very patient with.”

“ _My_ patience ran out about 5 years ago waiting for him to make a move. He’s been sweet on her ever since she propositioned him back in Missouri.” John mumbled under his breath, giving his elder brother a petulant look at Joseph’s disapproving frown.

 

* * *

 

Outside the church Shiloh looked up at Jacob and immediately felt her heart rate kick up. “You don’t have to take me back- I don’t mind the walk, really.”

His head stayed forward, gaze switching from straight ahead to his truck to glance at her. “Joseph said to take you home, so that’s what I’m doing.” His tone was matter of fact and simplistic, leaving no room for argument- he might as well have stated the sky was blue.

Her gaze dropped, shivering in the cold- the wind had picked up and made the air feel sharper than it had been when she first left the house.

Feeling something drop on her shoulders, Shiloh balked slightly until she realized Jacob had taken his army jacket off and placed it on her.

“I’ll be okay until we get to your truck-” she started, feeling like enough of an inconvenience as it was given all that’s happened.

“Heater doesn’t work. Won’t be much warmer in the cab either than it is out here,” straight forward and to the point as ever.

She doesn’t press or try to argue further. The army jacket- which she has seen him without exactly three times in all her years in the project- is warm and smells like him and she has to remind herself to _behave_ and not sniff at the collar like a lunatic no matter how tempted she is.

The ride back is silent, her nerves gnawing at her guts until finally it wells up and compels her to speak. “I’m sorry. All of this happened because of me.”

Jacob didn’t have an immediate response and as the quiet stretched out she assumed he wasn’t going to reply at all. At least until he did speak. “It wasn’t your fault. They shouldn’t have been on our land. If it hadn’t of been you it would have been something else. They go out of their way to provoke us and act shocked when they get a reaction.”

With anyone else the words likely wouldn’t be much to soothe her anxiety but Jacob… she knew he didn’t mince words or pull punches. He wasn’t trying to coddle or assuage her concerns, simply speaking the truth as he was prone to.

Sitting in silence once more, for once she wasn’t quite filled with the relief she normally felt when her little home was in eye sight. Despite the silence she was comfortable. She didn’t want to get out of the truck. Didn’t want to take off the jacket. Didn’t want to leave him.

But all good things came to an end and this was no exception. When the truck was parked she slipped out of the jacket, folding it neatly out of habit. Rather than immediately handing it over she paused for a moment, contemplating something before speaking.

“I never did thank you.” she started, eyes trained on the jacket she was still holding. “When he grabbed me I was terrified. He could have killed me and I wouldn’t have been able to stop him.”

She looked up, his face still forward but his eyes trained on her to his side. “Thank you.” she repeated, arms out stretching to hand him back his jacket.

“’s my job to protect the herd,” was his easy reply, one hand reaching out to take his jacket back.

Something about that stung- the idea that he’d simply been doing his job. But she was being overly emotional, reading something that wasn’t there. He hadn’t been interested all those years ago and he wasn’t interested now.

As she hopped out of the cab and was about to shut the door behind her, Jacob pulled her from her thoughts effortlessly. “Do me a favor Shiloh? Stay on the path. No more wandering in the woods.”

Blinking twice, she nodded as she shut the door.

A moment later he was driving down the road, leaving nothing but a cloud of dust trailing behind him.


End file.
